


At Dawn, We Plan

by PH03N1X_360



Series: Tales from the University of Emon [7]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst, Background Relationships, Briarwood Arc (Critical Role), Fluff, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Plot, Sort Of, scanlan being scanlan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:49:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29657820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PH03N1X_360/pseuds/PH03N1X_360
Summary: After the Wraith Attack, Vox Machina discusses what happens next.(This will make so much more sense if you read the whole series <3)
Relationships: Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III & Vox Machina
Series: Tales from the University of Emon [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2155557
Comments: 19
Kudos: 18





	1. Let’s Go A’Murdering

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y’all! I’m back. It’s been a few days. I wanted to let you all know that I’m going to have to slow down a bit on updating this series on account on account of an Original Story I’ve been working on. I’ll still try and update every few days, but I thought I’d let you know anyway.   
> This fic (#22!) is a lot of plot, I’ll do my best to make the next one shippy. Enjoy!

When Percy next awoke, he was alone. Vax’s covers had been thrown back and ripped apart slightly. His pillow was all but demolished. For a moment, his heart went still, but he spotted a note sitting on the bedside table. 

_Freddie,_

_ We are meeting in the cafeteria. Come down _

_ when you wake up.  _

_ Don’t be too late, _

_ Vax _

In light of this new information, Percy stood and quickly pieced together an acceptable outfit and hurried down to meet them. They were all waiting by the time he slid into an empty spot.

“Good Morning,” The gnomish woman commented, Pike, if he recalled correctly. 

“Good morning, I’m not sure I’ve been properly introduced...” Percy trailed off. 

“I’m Pike,” She said, shaking his hand. The blond man with the goatee behind her raised a finger to get his attention.

“Taryon Darrington. This here is Dotty,” He nodded to the metal construct in the corner. 

“Percival Fredrickstein von Mussel Klossowski de Rolo III, pleasure to make your acquaintances,” Percy recited. The twins gave poorly disguised snickers. Scanlan was the one to break the silence.

“So, Percival something something the only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage de Rolo, I think you owe us an explanation,” He asked, leaning back in his chair. Percy gave a tired sigh. 

“I suppose I must,” He admitted.

“So?” Vex implored, causing Percy to wince ever so slightly. Her expression softened.

“That was a hit. There are... some people who want me dead. This is the third time I’ve had to deal with it. I just about died last time, but I got lucky. There was a cleric who was doing night rounds, he saved me just in time. This is the most dangerous thing they’ve sent,” Percy explained haltingly. It was a while before anyone spoke. 

“Want you _dead_?” Grog inquired. 

“You should have warned us you’d be a safety hazard,”Vax cut in, his joking tone laced in concern.

“I know. And I’m sorry.” Percy said grimly. 

“What did you do?” Keyleth asked. He shook his head.

“It has nothing to do with me. It’s politics. I am the last remaining heir to the throne of Whitestone, so they need me out of the way.” Percy said.

“Who are _they?_ ”

“Sylas and Delilah Briarwood.”

This time, there were audible gasps from several members of the group, and looks of utter confusion from the others.

“Who?” Taryon asked. “Hey Dotty, search the web for Sylas and Delilah Briarwood,”

“Lord and Lady Briarwood. There are thirty results.” Dotty responded mechanically. 

“Try the Blood Plague,” Percy commented.

“The Blood Plague. There are Seven Hundred results.” Dotty informed them. 

“Dotty, read the Tal’dorei Today article,”

“The Blood Plague Claims the Royal Family, Causing Colossal Power Shift, published a year and a half ago by Professor Byron Anders. 

Tragedy struck the city of Whitestone today as it has been confirmed the royal family has passed due to a deadly virus known as the Blood Plague. The city has been on quarantine for the past several weeks until clerics could contain the spread. It has been successfully contained, but too late to spare the ruling family. Along with the de Rolos, several of the other barons and baronesses have also succumbed, likely due to their sheltered lifestyles.

In the wake of this horrible disaster, the mantle of Lordship has passed to Delilah Briarwood and her husband, Sylas, who were good friends of the family. They urge all to remain calm in light of all, and they will do their best to see everything return to the way it was prior to this.” Dotty droned. 

“What really happened?” Pike asked Percy. Sensing his growing discomfort, Vex cut in.

“They murdered them. This is a cover up.” She finished, wrinkling her nose in disgust. There was silence once more. 

“What do we do?” Keyleth asked. This time, Grog chimed in.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” He said, an odd hint of excitement in his voice. “We kill them.”

“No.” Pike elbowed him, glance about nervously for eavesdroppers. 

“Yes.” Percy concurred. “We can’t trace it back to them otherwise. Besides, Sylas is a vampire,”

“Woah, woah, slow down.” Scanlan waved a hand. “I said hi to you once, you knocked on my door at an ungodly hour bleeding out, we have to kill a creature that was trying to assassinate you, and now you’re telling us we need to kill two high profile public figures you claim murdered your family, one being a vampire, and that you are technically royalty?”

“That about sums it up, yes,” Percy nodded. 

“No way-“ Tary started.

“-Fuck yeah.” Scanlan interrupted, giving Percy a fist bump. “What’s the plan?” 

“We are going to start a revolution.” Percy asserted.


	2. Do You Hear the People Sing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Planning begins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! this thing felt more like a chapter than a thing I could post along. I've been a bit MIA the past few days, I had several tests this week. I am on spring break, but my family are in Hawaii for the week, so posting times could be a bit different. See you later!

“Wait, what? Revolution? No-“ Keyleth sat back against the seat. 

“Why not?” Grog asked. “These are bad people and it’ll be fun.”

Vax instantly went into planning mode. “We need a map of the city first. We also need people on the inside, anyone who may be able to help,” 

“Not to mention we are going to need to get into the city and do recon,” Vex piped up. “Where could we go to research them?” 

“I’m probably your best bet,” Percy confessed. “I imagine you won’t be able to find much elsewhere.”

“While this is all very exciting and I can’t wait to get started, I have class in fifteen minutes. Let’s break for now, we can meet in our dorm this evening.” Pike said, sliding out of the the cramped booth. Slowly the others followed suite.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vex’ahlia was the first back to the room. Keyleth had left the window open, and a sea breeze gently swirled around the room. Cursing slightly, she dragged an extra blanket off of her bed and burrowed into it. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she grabbed the remote and turned the tv on. Trinket jumped on the bed and curled up beside her, head on her lap. Vex smiled and scratched behind his ears. According to her recent texts with the group, Percy had prepped a fucking power point with everything he knew, complete with maps and blueprints from Vax’ildan. It made her chuckle just thinking about it. She hadn’t known him for more than a week or so and they were already risking jail and maybe their lives for him. Then again, they nearly got in a fist fight with the dean of students to let Vex keep her dog, seeing as he technically was an emotional support animal. That, though, is a story for another day. There were murders to plan.

There was a muted knock. 

“Come in, I can’t get up at present,” She called. Her brother slipped inside quietly.

“Hey, shorty,” Vax greeted her, pausing to pet Trinket before sitting down beside her. “You alright?”

“I think? This is bigger than what we used to do. I’m assuming we are going to need to get proper armor and things as well, I don’t think my old armor is functional anymore.” Vex sighed and leaned her head into his shoulder. 

“We’ll figure something out,” Vax assured her. There was another knock on the door. Vex begrudgingly sat up as her brother got up to get the door. Percy and Keyleth were talking in low voices, admiring at a string of beads in the redhead’s hair.

“Hey, I hope we aren’t too early,” Percy said as he and Keyleth stepped into the room. Trinket sat up and barked at these intruders.

“Shh, darling, it’s alright. It’s Keyleth and Percy,” Vex ruffled his fur affectionately, and he laid back down across her lap. Vax sat with Keyleth on her bed this time. Though she missed her head rest, she was pleased her brother had done _something_ about his situation. Speaking of...

“Keyleth, I love your beads. I just noticed them,” Vex said, a light smile dancing across her lips. Keyleth reddened, but said nothing. Percy sat in Vax’s vacated seat. 

“Hello, dear.” He said.

“Hello, darling.” Vex replied, then unceremoniously plopped her head on his shoulder. “Is this okay?”

“Ye-yeah, this is fine.” Percy sputtered, his voice much higher than she anticipated. 

This time, there was no knock. The door slammed open, making everyone jump. Cool as ever, Scanlan strolled in, followed by Pike on Grog’s shoulders. Tary stood outside, peering in with Dotty at his side. 

“May we come in?” He asked.

“Yeah...? Everyone else did,” Keyleth answered awkwardly. Tary nodded, closing the door behind Dotty. It was a bit cramped, but it worked. Once everyone was situated, Percy connected his phone to the TV and stood.

“Alright. So, welcome to the weirdest lecture you’ll probably ever have,” He stated, and a well made title slide flashed on the screen. “Welcome to Revolution 101, I suppose. I’ll start, tell you what what I know about them and give some names of people we can trust, then Vax will go over the maps and blueprints. When that’s done, we can start figuring out a plan,” Percy fiddled with the device for a moment, and the next slide came across the screen. A portrait of two people in royal garb was displayed, along with a neat list of bullet points.

“This is an artist’s rendition of the Briarwoods. I know they are from Wildmount, probably in the Dwendalian empire somewhere. They began to establish an alliance with Whitestone three years before the de Rolo massacre. With the help of my former tutor, Professor Anders-“

“As in the dude who wrote the article from earlier?” Pike asked.

“Yes. He should probably die as well.” Percy said shortly.

“Agreed.” Grog and Scanlan said in unison.

“Anyway, he is not the one to worry about,” Percy continued. “Their most dangerous Ally is a woman named Dr. Anna Ripley. The devil would be scared of that woman. She’s really the only one I’m truly afraid of. She... is responsible for this.” Percy unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt and pulled the fabric aside to reveal a staggering amount of scars crisscrossing his chest. There were audible gasps from several of the group. After righting his shirt again, he kept going. “She was fascinated with me and my designs, mostly my weapons. If those were to get out into the world... well. Let’s just say it’d be terrible. We’ve already mentioned the fact that Sylas is a vampire. From what I remember, Delilah is immensely powerful in her own right, mostly necromancy. They were very violent on their way in, I can assure you they will be no easy kill. If they were, I wouldn’t be here, I would be home cleaning their blood off of the castle floors. On my way out, I got to see their cruelty on full display. There were civilians sobbing as their loved ones who spoke out were lined up to lose their heads to Sylas’s blade. They used the sacred tree of Peloton as a gallows to execute the nobles who refused them. Johanna, Fredrick, Oliver, Whitney, and Ludwig, dressed in their best court outfits, swung alongside many of their friends. Vesper was impaled trying to save Cass, and Julius was killed in front of me in an attempt to force me to give up information I knew would lead to the deaths of millions. Blood ran in the streets. Three days later, all but the de Rolos walked again as their royal guard.” 

The room fell silent. Tears ran down Keyleth’s face. Taryon’s as well. Pike hid hers well, but Vex could see the shine in her eyes where they threatened to spill. Percy paused to clear his throat, then started once more. “That’s the basics of what I know, besides... Besides personal experiences. Because of all of this, I know we are going to gain a lot of sympathy from the survivors. Now, Allies...” The slide changed again, this time simply a list of names. “Keeper Yennen is in charge of one of the two religions in Whitestone. He can be a bit obnoxious, but he’s got no love for the new nobles. Father Reynal is in charge of the other. He was much closer to my parents and would be a great person to have on our side. Archibald Desnay, a prominent philosopher. Julius was his protégée. He’s older now, but I believe he has some very powerful spells. There’s also Simon Whisk, he ran the magic shop in town. Cassandra and I would go there all the time just to watch him work on new things. There’s one more, one I am certain is still there, one I know will be the most help to us. He’s known simply as the Storyteller. He has a foot in two realities, this one and another. That’s all I have. Vax, you’re up.” Percy handed the phone to Vax’ildan and sat back down by Vex’ahlia. 

“Actually, brother, can we break for ten minutes? That was a lot to take in,” Vex spoke up, pouring all her sweetness into those words.

“Sure. Take ten,” Vax announced. Vex stood and tugged on Percy’s arm.

“Come with me for a minute?” She asked. Percy nodded and followed her. She lead him down the halls to a quiet spot with a large sofa and sat down. He followed suite.

Vex could feel the tension radiating off of him in waves. Gently, she guided his head to rest on her chest and stroked his hair softly. Percival grabbed her arm and held on with the desperation of a dying man as silent sobs wracked his body. 

“Hey,” Vex soothed, “Are you gonna be okay?” 

“I don’t- I was fine talking about it before, I... I don’t-“ He stammered, but Vex pulled back and placed a finger across his lips. 

“It’s alright,” she interrupted. “Let me know when you’re ready to go back,” Percy’s vice grip on her arm released, hand now hovering near her cheek.

“May I?” He asked. Vex nodded He kissed her gently. It was different from many of their others. It had no real heat behind it, just a tenderness that made her shiver. When Percy pulled away, he wiped any remaining tears away with the heel of his hand and stood, offering her a hand.

“Come on, we’ve got some more planning to do,”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they returned to the room, an argument had arisen.

“THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A STEALTH THING-“ Vax hissed.

“WE ARE NEVER GOING TO HAVE A MORE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY!” Scanlan roared back. “I AM PLAYING THE DAMN THING!!!

“Shut up.” Vex demanded, voice deathly cold. They fell silent. “What’s going on, Pike?”

“Scanlan wants to play ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’ on loop while we go a’murdering.” Pike positively howled with laughter. Taryon looked vaguely confused, but wasn’t fairing much better than Pike. Percy gave a weak face palm.

“Percival something something dancing queen, young and sweet, only 17 de Rolo, what you you think?” Scanlan turned to him. There was a pause, then Percy pulled his hand away from his face, chuckling.

“Sorry, Vax, we are _absolutely_ doing it. They’re gonna hate it so much…” he said, trying to get his laughter under control. Vax grumbled. The TV flickered to life again, and Percy and Vex returned to their seats.


	3. Maps, Dots, and Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plans continue, featuring Vax’ildan and a large number of maps. Plans are made?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Y’all! I’m alive! Last one of this set of three. This one was a bit slow, but I’m excited for the next one, It’s gonna be great. See ya!

“Alright, listen up, you bastards. We’ve got things to do, and I don’t have all night.” Vax’ildan paced back and forth in front of the TV screen. “I have so many maps, but not of the right things. Bear with me, I only had like three hours to do some digging.”

The first map flashed up, simply a map of the realm.

“Here’s the first one. Does it look familiar?” He said sarcastically. Grog raised a hand. “Yes, Grog, what would you like to contribute to this conversation?”

“That’s a map of Tal’dorei.” He said proudly. There was a bit of an awkward pause.

“Correct. So. Whitestone is here… Vex, did you take my laser pointer?” Vax turned to her. Vex shrugged.

“Trinket, love, give it back…” She said, struggling to speak without laughing. At once, the behemoth of a dog padded over and dropped it at Vax’s feet unceremoniously.

“How did- you know what? I don’t care.” Vax snatched it off the ground and wiped it on the edge of his dark red flannel. “Here is Whitestone.” He pointed the laser at the city marker. “It’s quite a trek from here,” The dot whipped over to the Emon’s dot on the map. “That means two hours by plane to Westrrun, then another five in a car of some kind to get to Whitestone, yes, Taryon?” Vax turned his attention away from the board towards the Blond man, waving his hand about in the air wildly.

“Yes, what about Whitestone’s airport? Can weapons go in checked luggage?” Tary asked. Many of the others muttered in agreement.

“Briarwoods have put the whole thing in quarantine, no one goes in or out,” Percy muttered.

“Of course you can carry weapons in checked luggage, why not?” Pike said casually, dragging a blanket off of her bed and draping it over her shoulders. The room went quiet for a moment, before Vax gave an awkward cough and flipped to the next slide. This time, there was a large map of Whitestone cast on the screen. Percy gave Vex’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“This is Whitestone. I’ve marked a few safe houses, places we can stay or find allies. Here is the Sun Tree-“

“What’s that?” Grog interrupted. Scanlan facepalmed into the bed. A slight smile graced Percy’s face.

“It’s. A big ass tree?” Vax answered, looking pained.

“Thank you, continue.” Grog tugged a corner of Pike’s blanket across his lap, inadvertently dragging the gnome with him.

“Right. The most important thing about Whitestone isn’t actually on this map. Under the city, there are a maze of tunnels. Percy has marked a few known entrances. That is how we are getting into the castle, which is this building here.” A red dot hovered over the spot. Then another appeared right beside it. Then another. Soon, the whole screen was covered. Vax gave a resigned sigh. “Pickle?”

“Yeah, string bean?” Pike asked.

“Hit Scanlan.”

“Of course.” She reached over and slapped him hard. The dots vanished. “There you go, continue.”

“Right. Last one.” The screen flipped to show a very old blueprint. “Here is the castle. The throne room is this large one, and the tunnel entrance is here. _Yes, Grog, what now_?”

“Freddie, where’s your room?” Grog poked him. A blue dot appeared, circled one of the rooms, and most of the company turned to him in surprise.

“You can do that?” Vex asked. Percy shrugged, pulling the illusion back. The image shifted into a small bird, looping over their heads in a graceful arc.

“What? I’ve got a bit of magic.” He chuckled, the bird vanishing in a puff of smoke.

“Huh. _Anyway_ , I’m not quite done yet.” Vax interjected, before muttering to himself in elvish, “{I can see why the Professors hate us. We suck.}” Both Percival and Vex’ahlia snickered. “So, any other questions?”

Scanlan’s and Grog’s hands went up.

“That are not questions regarding bathrooms, alcohol, brothels, or other stupid things that have very little to do with this endeavor.”

Both hands went down.

“Wonderful. Percy, your turn, I’m done with these idiots.” Vax plopped back down besides Keyleth. Vex reluctantly sat up from leaning against him, and he stood to retake leadership.

“Right. Plans. Anyone have any ideas?”

“Burn it down.” Scanlan said immediately.

“Here we go again…” Vax groaned.

“This is my city. I’m literally the Lord of that city. You will NOT burn it down.” Percy said, eyes flaring slightly. “You can keep your Les Mis, but I draw the line here.”

“You’re hot when you do that,” Vex teased, enjoying the sudden flush in his complexion.

“Thank you, Vex.” He muttered. Vax and Grog made gagging sounds in the background.

“I have a though.” Tary announced to the group. “What if we wait to make a plan until we see the layout and know for sure what we can count on.”

“For one, I agree with Taryon.” Vax nodded.

“That sounds fine. We need things, though. I need new armor. Not the new police stuff though, if I’m getting armor, I want class.” Vex piped up. Keyleth nodded excitedly.

“You know who I bet would have some?” She turned to the other twin.

“Gilmore.” They said in unison.

“Tomorrow, we shop.” Scanlan said. “Who’s paying?”


End file.
